Upholstery-spring-attaching device



June 10, 1930. s, W N 1,763,077

UPHOLS'I'ERY SPRING ATTACHING DEVICE Filed April 25, 1928 MrfM Patented June 10, 1930 PATENT OFFICE SIMON I. WARREN, F QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS UPHOLSTERY-SPBING-ATTACEING DE'V'IO'E v Application filed April as,

In the construction of upholstery it is com- Z mon practice to mount a series of spiral s s rings on a support which consists of a ser1es of interwoven strips of webbing attached 8' to the frame. In these constructions it is customary to secure the springs in osition on the webbing by attaching the en coils of the springs thereto by means of string, which is passed thru the webbing and tied about the 10 fcoils at different points. This arrangement has been found to be unsatisfactory for several reasons, primarily because, in'use the string is subjected to wear and eventually "breaks, with the result that the springs be- 5 come detached from the webbing and are likely to move into various inclined positions with relation to the supporting webbing with well known consequences. Also springs tend to turn axially so as to slip out from their fastenings with similar results. This form of connection is further objectionable on account of the labor cost incidental thereto.

The object of my invention is to produce an improved means for attaching the end coil of a spiral or similar form of spring to a textile support, so that the connection beftween the coil and support will not subsequently be broken even after long use and will firmly secure the spring in the position in which itis attached, so that it cannot turn 1 or otherwise move from such position, and

which will enable the springs to be rapidly attached, so that labor costs may be reduced.

I accomplish this object by providing a portion from which relatively narrow prongs project at the opposite ends of the sides thereof, the saddle portion of the staple being adapted to be closely fitted onto the top side 'of the coil, so that, when the staple is placed -*astride the coil, the prongs may be passed through the support and the saddle portion forced onto the coil and then the prongs may be bent in opposite directions, so that they lie side by side beneath the coil, whereby the coil and support will be clamped together between the saddle portion and prongs of the staple and the saddle portion will be tightly engaged with the coil, so that the coil cannot move longitudinally in thestaple and will form of staple, having an elongated saddle 1928. Serial No. 272,707.

thus be held against all motion on the support. a

For a more complete description of my invention, reference is made to the following specification, in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of webbing support for the spiral springs of an article of furniture, illustrating the application of an embodiment of my invention thereto. v

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view of the blank from which a staple embodying my invention is formed.

Filg. 4 is a perspective view of the finished stap e. 7

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are detail views illustrating the manner in which the staple is applied.

According to my invention I provide a staple which is preferably formed from bendable sheet metal and comprises a somewhat elongated semi-cylindrically shaped saddle portion a, having edges a from the opposite ends of which a pair of prongs 6 project in approximately parallel relation, the formation being such that the opposite side edges of the prongs and the opposite end edges of the saddle portions are continuous and disposed in parallel planes, the adjacent edges of the prongs being extended obliquely to meet their opposite edges, so that the ends of the prongs will be pointed.

In practlce the staple will referably be formed from a flat sheet metal blank, shaped as indicated in Fig. 3, the saddle portion then being bent into U-form so that the prongs project from the opposite ends of the opposite side edges thereof in approximate parale0 lelism. As the spring coils to which the staples are applied are practically invariably formed of round wire, the saddle portion of the staple will be formed semi-cylmdrically, to fit closely on the wireof the particular size of which the springs are constructed. The sides of the saddle portion are preferably extended in parallelism for a short 'distance beyond the semi-cylindrical portion, so thatits depth will be somewhat more than half the diameter of the wire. The width of the prongs at their points of connection wlth the saddle portion 1s preferably approximately half, or not more than half the length of the saddle portion, as shown in Fig. 3, and, as they taper from this point to their ends, and are diagonally disposed at opposite ends of the saddle portion, they may be bent fiatwlse beneath the saddle portion at right angles to the sides into positions in which they w1ll l1e side by side without coming in contact wlth each other.

The ordinary upholstery construction in connection with which the above described staple is-used is indicated in Figs. and'2and comprises two parallel SGIIGS, of interwoven strips of webbing W, which extend from opposite sides of a frame, and are drawn taut,

to form a resilient support for'a series of spiral springs, one of which is indicated, and

the bottom coil S of which rests directly on the webbing. p

In attaching a spring to the webbing, after it has been placed in the desired position thereon, several of the staples, usually at least three, are employed for each spring. In placing a staple in position, it'is placed astride the coil, then its saddle portion is forced thereon and its prongs are forced down through the webbing, preferably at some point at which two strips cross each other, so that the prongs will pass through both strips, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the saddle portion will be passed onto the top portion of the coil until it is firml seated.there'in, as shown in Fi 5. Then, w ile the saddle portion is held own on the coil, the prongs will be bent in opposite directions, to positions approximately at right angles to their former positions, so that they lie side by side in engagement with the webbing directly beneath the coil. The prongs are then clenched and bend the prongs .oppositely and clench against the webbing while the top of the staple is held against some form of anvil, so that the coil and webbing are securely clamped together between the saddle portion and the prongs.

The operation of inserting and clenching the staples may be'performed in any convenientmanner, a method which has been found to be the most effective in practice being to hold the saddle portion of t e staple between the jaws of a pair of pliers, the ends of which have been recessed to receive the saddle portion, then, while thus held, to place the staple in position on the coil, as above described,

them firmly against the webbing with a hammer, the tool with which the staple is held acting as the anvil to hold the saddle portion against the coil while the prongs are being clenched. The action of bending the prongs towards the opposite sides of the saddle portion and beneath the coil and of 'clenching them, as above described, tends to draw each side of the saddle portion inward a ainst the vcoil, so that the latter is clamped rml' between the sides of the saddle portion a s own in Fig. 8, the portions of the saddle below the middle of the coil usually bein drawn inward, thereby increasing the orce of the clamping engagement of the staple with the coil, so that the coil is securely held against either longitudinal, or swinglng movement with relation to the staple.

WVhen a sufiicient number of staples have thus been secured to the coil of a spring and to the webbing, the coil will be securely held against any turning or sliding movement on the webbing, so that it can not be displaced by use. If, for example, a coil rests principallyon one strip of webbing, but overlaps onto the edge portion of an adjacent strip, a staple connecting the coil and the adjacent strip will .prevent the coil from slipping therefrom, an

occurrence which is likely to take place with previously employed methods. Also by havmg the staples pass through the strips where they cross each other, all the stri s will be held in the same relation as that w en ori inally drawn tightly and attached to t e frame, even thou h the strips become stretched in use an there is a strong tendency, by the action of the springs thereon, to push the'strips away from each other at their middle portions.

The arrangement of the relatively narrow prongs at the opposite ends of the saddle portion is of vital importance, as it enables them to be bent in opposite directions beneath the coil without having either encounter the other, or become imposed one on the other, so that a maximum portion of the surface of the webbing will be engaged thereby. Also if the prongs were so held that their adjacent edges engaged or were forced in too close proximity when they were clenched, they would have a shearing action on the strands of the webbing between them. The prongs of each staple are, however, spaced apart suificiently to prevent such an occurrence, as indicated in Fig. 6.-

With the above described construction the coil may be quickly attached to the webbing, particularly when a special tool for the purpose is employed, and a connection is provided therebetween which will last indefinitely, as the staples will not become worn and the connection is such that there is no looseness .which would cause any wear on the webbing.

I claim':

1. A metal staple, for attaching an end coil of an upholstery spring to a textile support, having an elongated U-form saddle portion adapted to be closely fitted onto and clamped to the coil, to prevent longitudinal movement thereof in said saddle portion, and having a prong of substantially less width than the length of its saddle portion extending from each side of said portion at opposite ends and constructed to permit each prong to be bent into positions in which it extends directly beneath the side of the saddle portion opposite thereto and between its end and the prong which extends therefrom.

2. A metal staple, for attaching an end coil of an upholstery spring to a textile support, having an elongated U-form saddle portion of a depth substantiall greater than half the diameter of the wire w ich forms the coil and adapted to be closely fitted thereon, and having a prong of substantially-less width than the length of its saddle portion extending from each side of said portion at its opposite ends, to permit the edge portion of each side of the saddle portion to be bent beneath the coiltowards the other side and each prong to be extended beneath the opposite edge portion between its prong and its end opposite thereto.

is directly opposite the pron of theopposite side, said prongs being exten ed downwardly thru said support and bent oppositely therebeneath and beneath the corresponding direct-ly opposite bottom'edge of the saddle, in position to clamp the coil and support together between the prongs and the saddle.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

' SIMON-L. WARREN.

3. A metal staple for attaching an end coil of an upholstery spring to a textile support, having an elongated U-form saddle portion adapted to be closely fitted onto and clamped to the coil, and having a prong, which is narrow as compared with the length 'of'the saddle portion, extending from each side thereof at its opposite ends, providing an edge por: tion on each side which extends ri ht angularly to the prong thereof and which is opposite the prong on the other side, each prong I being adapted to extend beneath the edge por tion opposite thereto, when bent right angularly to clamp the support and coil between the same and the saddle portion, the width of the portion of the prong directly, beneath the edge portion, when in this position, being substantially less than the length, of the edge 7 portion. 4. In an upholstery construction including a textile support and a wire coil spring having its bottom coil seated on the'top side thereof, a metal staple having an elongated U-form saddle fitted onto the top side of said coil and clamped thereto and havin aprong of substantially less width than t e length of the saddle extending from each side thereof at its opposite ends, said prongs being extended downwardly thru said support and bent oppositely therebeneath and beneath the corresponding directly opposite side portions of the saddle, in position to clamp the coil and support together between the prongs and the saddle.

5. In an upholstery construction including 

